Hudson Valley  Farm to Table & Green Certified Restaurant

Editorial: Cheers to all who put others’ needs first

​Times Herald Record
Posted Jan 2, 2017 ​

CHEERS: To the many people, organizations and businesses who made the holidays a bit more bright and filling. Among the examples that stand out was the 14th annual Christmas meal provided by Aroma Thyme Bistro in Ellenville and 75 volunteer helpers. They gathered on Christmas Day to help prepare hundreds of free meals for those who needed assistance. For Bistro owners Jamie and Marcus Guiliano, this has become a holiday tradition. Marcus Guiliano has long had this goal. “As a young chef, a chef apprentice working for other people, I said ‘Whenever I own my own restaurant, I want to be able to give back.’” This year, with 15 families that volunteered as delivery drivers, the 550 meals spread out across a 25-mile radius. This year’s dinner involved 55 gallons of soup, 15 gallons of gravy and 75 turkeys - a whopping 900 pounds. In the future, the Guilianos hope they can deliver 1,000 meals.
CHEERS: To Elks Lodge 645 in Port Jervis, for keeping up its holiday tradition, one that began more than 60 years ago, with its annual holiday party. Elks member Jill Jones, one of the many hardworking volunteers who have helped bring the event to their Route 6 lodge each Christmas Eve, said the community gathering evolved from a membership tradition. The event features invitations to more than 200 students from local schools including the Port Jervis, Delaware Valley (Pa.), and Eldred school districts. Each school district provides names of students who would benefit from the event, then the districts provide transportation to the Westfall Township (Pa.) Kmart, where they select new clothing. Each student chooses some of the items they receive at the party, such as clothing, but are surprised with toys, refreshments and other special gifts during the event.
CHEERS: To some neighbors who risked their own lives to save another in an accident on icy roads. Quick action by Patrick, Christopher and Anthony Beatty of Mountaindale helped rescue Harriet Mayers from her car, which had slid off icy Mountaindale Road last Monday and ended up on its roof in Sandburg Creek. Her husband, Vincent Mayers, did not survive. The three were among several people who stopped to help. Christopher Beatty went into the frigid water, broke the back window with a rock, cut the seat belts to help get the two out and together with others at the scene tended to the victims until an ambulance arrived. They said they were just being good neighbors. “It’s not a heroic thing,” Patrick Beatty said. “It’s a human thing.”
CHEERS: To two police officers and a passerby who helped revive a person who had overdosed on drugs on Christmas Day. A person driving by noticed a man passed out behind the wheel of a car and told Walden police. Officers Christopher Heimink and Craig Dudas went to investigate, saw what their training has helped them identify as typical signs of opiate overdose, then started administering the antidote drug naloxone. After four doses, police said, the man’s breathing stabilized and his color returned to normal. He regained consciousness and was taken to a hospital for evaluation.